Kinship care is rewarding but can bring a host of challenges to both the carer and the child. DWP/HMRC that you have had a change of circumstances and that you are now receiving an allowance. Every situation is different. Kinship Allowances Following additional funding from the Scottish Government all local authorities have agreed to pay a kinship allowance at a minimum of the same rate as foster carers in their Local Authority area. Kinship care support Scotland Helping support children and young people Often, when parents are struggling or unable to look after their children, relatives or family friends will step in and offer to help. If you are caring for a looked after child the payments will continue as long as the child remains looked after. The aim of the additional funding is to ensure local parity (i.e. Kinship carers often don’t know that they are entitled to financial support when caring for their relatives. However, where there is a delay in doing this, it is expected that payments are to be backdated to 1 October. Coronavirus and benefits for kinship carers in Scotland ‘Kinship care’ is the term usually used to describe the situation where a child is being cared for on a permanent, or semi-permanent, basis by a member of their extended family or by a family friend. income, savings etc. Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods How to apply for the School Age Payment, Early Learning Payment, Pregnancy and Baby Payment and a prepaid card to buy healthy food. Demonstrating child responsibility to claim Scottish Child Payment as a kinship carer A kinship carer can demonstrate child responsibility through meeting these evidence requirements. There are two main ways in which a child can become ‘looked after’ by […] Kinship Care Payments are made weekly and are determined by the age of the child. LAC Kinship Allowance – where children have been place with kinship carers through a Children’s Hearing, or with a S25 agreement, their carer may be eligible to receive a weekly payment towards their care. If you are unsure what section to choose go through the link below to work that out: Looking for local help? Support and benefits you can get if you're looking after someone else's child, court orders - kinship care, private fostering, friends and family care Remember each situation is different. We will notify you when we publish any new articles to our News page. contact Susan Hunter at Adoption UK Scotland.. What is kinship care? This is different to other forms of kinship care as the child is then considered ‘looked after’, and you won’t have parental responsibility. Funding started on 1 October 2015. Looking for local help? At present, few local authorities use these powers to make kinship care payments and are more likely to make section 22 or section 50 payments. When the child stops being looked after your payment will take into account any other benefits you receive for the child, except those related to a disability. Knowing the answers to these questions will help your adviser carry out a calculation of the amount of kinship care allowance you will be eligible to receive based on the way in which the local authority makes payment and your own individual entitlement to Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and other financial circumstances – i.e. 33 talking about this. The amount of DLA paid depends on the nature of the disability. If the Local Authority is making regular payments for accommodation and/or maintenance then things can get complicated. Scottish Kinship Care Alliance Chair and kinship carer Anne Swartz said, “The Scottish Government claim they are ‘getting it right for every child’ but kinship children remain stigmatised and discriminated against. The exception to this is if your Local Authority is making you payments of Kinship Care Allowance under S110 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act – in these circumstances, HMRC might decide you are not entitled. New guidance to support the implementation of Part 13 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, and on the associated Kinship Care Assistance (Scotland) Order 2016 is now available. Councils agreed to use section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to pay kinship allowances, allowing kinship families to claim state benefits for looked after children. From 1st September 2020, the Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS) is being led by Adoption UK Scotland (AUKS) and AFA Scotland (AFAS). Funeral Support Payment Find out more about the Funeral Support Payment and burial costs. AUKS will also respond to email enquiries sent to scotland@adoptionuk.org.uk. If you are not sure that the child you care for is ‘looked after’, go back and have another look at the flowchart on page 26. We have introduced a new Scottish Child Payment for low-income families with children under six, which started on 15 February. Kinship care Payments are made weekly and are determined by the age of the child. Answer: the child is at risk of becoming looked after. Special Guardianship Order, Kinship Foster/Family & Friends Foster Care Order), you may be able to access state … In September 2015 we announced that we would give local authorities an additional £10.1 million of funding per year with which to pay kinship care allowances. If you are a kinship carer you may be entitled to an allowance. Scottish Child Payment is a new benefit which will provide eligible families with £40 every 4 weeks for each child under 6. Many other children are in informal kinship care arrangements, living with grandparents or other relatives. Money, Allowances & Benefits . ... ILF Scotland Transition Fund You may be able to get Scottish Child Payment if all of the following apply: you live in Scotland you or your partner are getting certain benefits or payments you or your partner are the main person looking after a child who's under 6 years old It … See our emergency contacts page. There are two main ways in which a child can become ‘looked after’ by […] Poverty – Kinship care is most common in Scotland’s poorest communities. Any payments from the Local Authority will not affect your PC. Keep up-to-date and informed on the latest kinship care news from kinship.scot. The agreement covers: Scottish Government guidance suggests that local authorities deduct any ‘child-related’ benefits to which the kinship carer is entitled, and that a foster carer would not get, from the amount of the allowance. It can be paid during pregnancy or until the baby is six months old in most cases. Please contact your local CAB office for further information. There is an agreement between the Scottish Government and local authorities that certain kinship carers should get financial support at the same level as the local authority’s fostering allowance rate (not including fostering fees). Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods How to apply for the School Age Payment, Early Learning Payment, Pregnancy and Baby Payment and a prepaid card to buy healthy food. Permanent Placement of a Child with Carers, Offering Permanent Care to a Child who is Placed in Foster Care, Seeking Parental Rights and Responsibilities, Financial Assistance for a Kinship Care Order, Benefit Entitlements for a “Non Looked After” Child, Benefit Entitlements for a Child in an Informal Relationship, Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 & Parts, Zara, aged 5½ years and Ryan, aged 4½ years. Kinship Care 25 January 2012 12/05 Camilla Kidner This briefing gives an introduction to kinship care policy in Scotland, regulations for assessment and the provision of allowances. Unfortunately, this is not always something that the Local Authority makes clear. If they or their partner are not the child’s parent but are the child’s kinship carer and are either: Kinship foster care is when a friend or family member becomes an official foster carer for a child. Scotland are able to support young people in kinship care and the people who look after them financially throughout winter with cash payments and white goods. Keep up-to-date and informed on the latest kinship care news from kinship.scot. Kinship Care Allowance payments from the Local Authority will not affect the amount of ESA you receive. At present, few local authorities use these powers to make kinship care payments - they are more likely to make section 22 … However, once UK benefits were taken into account, 16 out of Scotland’s 32 councils were paying equivalent allowances … Without financial support and with the blood parents often drawing the child benefit many kinship carers can only just make ends meet and can lack the most basic white goods or a bed for the child they are caring for. Kinship foster care is when a friend or family member becomes an official foster carer for a child. Carer's Allowance Supplement is an extra payment for people in Scotland who get Carer's Allowance. The benefit will also depend on whether the child is considered part of the household. There are four age bands: 0 - 4 years: £137.18 5 - 10 years: £156.30 11 - 15 years: £194.54 This will apply to all formal kinship carers where the child is looked after. Benefit Information is provided by Citizens Advice Scotland. Every Local Authority in Scotland makes its own arrangements on how they pay Kinship Care Allowance and the amount that they pay. Kinship carers will not always receive the payment however the calculation process applied is the same in all cases. The type of payment, what it is for, the legal power the local authority used to make the payment and the amount paid, all varied across Scotland. 110 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 allows the local authority to pay an allowance to kinship carers of looked after children. If the Local Authority makes payment for any purpose other than accommodation and maintenance of a looked after child, you will be entitled to apply for Child Tax Credit. 110 of the Adoption and Children(Scotland) Act 2007 allows the local authority to pay an allowance to kinship carers of looked after children. Following additional funding from the Scottish Government all local authorities have agreed to pay a kinship allowance at a minimum of the same rate as foster carers in their Local Authority area. If you contact a Citizens Advice Bureau you will be asked key questions in order to work out your entitlements. This can also be used as supporting information for your application for Scottish Child Payment. Often in fact, the Local Authority tell carers that they are not entitled to any support because of their relationship to the child. If the child is placed through a Compulsory Supervision Order you may be able to receive payments. The new service uses the previous CAS helpline number of 0808 800 0006 which transferred over to AUKS on 1st September 2020. Kinship carers of looked after children can only claim Child Benefit which will be deducted. Funeral Support Payment Find out more about the Funeral Support Payment and burial costs. Scottish Child Payment is administered by Social Security Scotland through an application-based process, and is paid on a four-weekly basis. Kinship Care 25 January 2012 12/05 Camilla Kidner This briefing gives an introduction to kinship care policy in Scotland, regulations for assessment and the provision of allowances. See our emergency contacts page. It … A further 25 per cent continue to live with their parents, with social work support. This is currently paid at the same rate as local fostering allowance, and any entitlement to Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit will be deducted. We will notify you when we publish any new articles to our News page. If you have Kinship Care Order for your child then the legislation says that allowances must be paid until the child's 16th birthday as long a the child remains in your care. ... ILF Scotland Transition Fund There is currently no specific benefit or allowance for kinship carers but, dependant on any legal order you may have (i.e. This is known as kinship care. The amount is usually based on the local authority’s fostering allowance rate less any child-related benefits that you receive for the child which a foster carer would not get (for example child benefit, child tax credit). within their local authority area) of allowances between kinship and foster carers (however, foster care fees are not included in this agreement and are separate from it). For more information, please . If you are caring for a looked after child the local authority has a responsibility to make payment of kinship care allowance and ensure that the financial support you receive is at the same rate as fostering allowance. Eligibility will depend on your income, savings, health and other circumstances. Applications may now be submitted through my.gov.scot If you accept Local Authority Kinship Care Payments you must tell the relevant departments eg. For example, if a kinship carer gets the child element of universal credit, this would be deducted. Kinship carers where the child is subject to a kinship care order under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or the carer is the child’s guardian under section 7 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. the child was previously looked after by the local authority. The payment will start on Monday 15 February 2021 but Social Security Scotland are taking applications now so that we can make payments as quickly as possible after it starts. If you're due to get a Carer's Allowance Supplement, you'll get a letter from Social Security Scotland before the payment …